Core Rhetoric Terms
Term: An appeal based on credibility, trust, background experience, or expert qualifications.
Ethos
Term: A statement that can be proven true or false using records, data, or direct observation.
Fact
According to municipal records, 73% of high school students do not get 8 to 10 hours of sleep. Ethos, Pathos or Logos?
Logos
Term: The logical strength, fairness, and factual backing of an argument.
Validity
What the letter 'A' stands for in the ACE+E model.
Assertion
Term: An appeal targeting emotions, feelings, fear, or audience sympathy.
Pathos
Term: A belief, feeling, or judgment that cannot be proven true for everyone.
Opinion
As a chief orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years of clinical experience, I recommend daily stretching. Ethos, Pathos or Logos?
Ethos
True or False: An article can contain real facts and statistics and STILL be biased.
True
What the letter 'C' stands for, AND the formula used to write it.
Cite (Formula: Signal Phrase + Quote/Stat)
Term: An appeal grounded in logic, percentages, statistics, numbers, and hard data.
Logos
Writing that stays completely neutral, fair, and sticks strictly to observable facts. Objective or Subjective?
Objective
Waking up at 6:00 AM is a total nightmare that is literally destroying every student's life! What is this an example of?
Hyperbole
A tech creator reviews a phone favorably, but buries a $5,000 sponsorship badge in tiny text. What is this an example of?
What the first 'E' stands for, AND its purpose in the paragraph.
Term: An extreme exaggeration used for dramatic effect or humor that is not meant to be taken literally.
Hyperbole
Writing shaped by personal feelings, mood, dramatic language, and loaded judgment words. Objective or Subjective?
Subjective
If we don't adopt this shelter puppy today, he will sit alone in his cold cage weeping every night. Ethos, Pathos or Logos?
Pathos
An article bases its claim on 'poorly designed research with tiny sample sizes.' Its validity is...
Low Validity
What the second 'E' stands for, AND its purpose in the paragraph.
Elaborate (showing real-world / big-picture impact)
Term: An unfair preference for or against something, often driven by money, personal interests, or loyalty.
Bias
Read this sentence: "The cafeteria serves food at 12:00 PM, which is the most miserable time of day." Identify WHICH PART is the fact and WHICH PART is the opinion.
Fact: "The cafeteria serves food at 12:00 PM" | Opinion: "which is the most miserable time of day"
The city bus route carries 14,000 passengers daily across 12 distinct neighborhood zones.
Objective or Subjective tone?
Rewrite this sentence to make it Objective: "The cafeteria food is biohazard sludge."
Many students express dissatisfaction with cafeteria meals.
Identify the MISSING component in this outline: Assertion --> Citation --> Elaboration.
Explain